


Cry For Me

by lastunicornalive



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Lovers to Friends, Princess - Freeform, friends to enemies to lovers?, maybe smut in the future?, more characters to come??, past michaeng - Freeform, past misamo, these tags are a mess sorry, vampire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:55:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28438005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastunicornalive/pseuds/lastunicornalive
Summary: Minayeon vampire - princess au in which Nayeon will have to decide whether she wants to follow her heart or accept her destiny as queen. Could those two ever be compatible?or, alternatively, Nayeon goes on a trip with her friends and finds many unexpected things, like a beautiful creature that will change her life forever.
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Son Chaeyoung, Hirai Momo/Park Jisoo | Jihyo, Hirai Momo/Yoo Jeongyeon, Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina, Kim Dahyun/Minatozaki Sana, Park Jisoo | Jihyo/Yoo Jeongyeon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	1. Parties and Trips

**Author's Note:**

> Hiiiii, this fic is going to be kinda long I think, I have the first 5 chapters already written so I hope you like it and I hope I don't give up on it half-way. I'm very excited for this fic because: vampires. I will be posting tweets with photos and/or songs that I thought about while writing each chapter so if you wanna see those follow me @/mysun_swan !! Special thanks to my beta reader Nur ily bb. I hope y'all like it and feel free to leave comments I'd love to read your opinions!!

Not in this timeline and nowhere near us, there was a kingdom formed by 4 dukedoms, and with the beginning of each season, a party was thrown at the king’s palace. Many years ago, each duchy had a season assigned, depending on when they were the most prosperous. The king’s palace was situated in the Spring territory and for obvious reasons, that was when the best party was thrown. It was a small country, with a very much-loved king but, no queen. The queen had died 5 years ago, and she was the one who started the seasonal tradition, the king just went along with it because he was madly in love with her wife. These parties were not the usual ones, they always had the 19th century fashion theme, even if they were well past that. The queen just loved the dresses and all the drama that went with it. After her death, everyone thought that the parties would stop, but they didn’t and no one dared to ask. It was a very sensitive topic, not only in the palace, but everywhere around the kingdom. She just fell sick, out of nowhere, and no healer, wizard or witch managed to save her. Her light slowly faded away and only thanks to the princess, the kingdom’s light did not die with the queen. 

(…) 

Now, late September, the autumn party had already started. The great palace was decorated with brown and yellowish motives; the cozy feeling of the huge fireplace and the sweet smell of pumpkin pie filled the air. The duke’s family arrived first, to then let the rest of the Autumn duchy’s population enter the castle and enjoy the evening. Every Autumn party, the center of attention was the duke’s daughter, Tzuyu. She was tall, with long brown hair and a beauty acclaimed around the whole reign. She was the princess’ cousin and together they lighted up every room they walked into. Tzuyu was a shy quiet girl, but everyone loved her, she just had this special charm that made your heart warm only with a smile. The girl was sitting by the fireplace, petting her fluffy dog, looking up the stairs from time to time, waiting, as everybody else at the hall, for the princess to come down, so that the party could officially start. 

“Your Highness, are you ready? Your father, and literally everyone, is waiting for you to start the first dance.” – The maid whispered, knocking on the door. 

“Yes, Jeongyeon, come in for a second, this stupid dress won’t let me breathe.” – the princess cleared her throat and whipped away a tear that was about to fall down her cheek, luckily before the maid could notice.

The young girl entered the princess’ room and helped her ease the knots from her corset. Even though there had always been the princes – maid relationship between them, they had been by each other’s’ side for so long that they felt more like sisters.

“I swear to God, I love the fancy parties and the big gowns, but I don’t understand why I have to keep using corsets. I feel imprisoned.”

“OH, come on, you drama queen, you know your dad loves these period parties, you have to dress accordingly. Plus, you look beautiful so shut your trap.”

“Aw Jeongie telling me I look pretty, that’s a once in a lifetime.” – The older knew just how to tease her friend.

“Don’t make me regret it.” – Jeongyeon said and pulled the lacing cord tightly, making Nayeon gasp for air, to then straighten the voluptuous skirt. “All done, now go get the crowd, princess.”

The girls laughed as Nayeon looked at her reflection on the mirror one last time before walking out of her room. Jeongyeon hurried before her, almost running down the stairs, nodding at the king to let him know that the princess was coming. He stood up, and immediately the rest of the guests did the same, turning to the stairs, excited to see the heir. Many were awed by her beauty and the reactions made Nayeon smile shily, as always, showing everyone her bunny teeth. She did a little bow and hugged her father, who was already waiting in the center on the dance hall. It was tradition to open the party with a King – Princess dance, it had always been that way, even when she was only a kid. As soon as they started to dance to the happy piano melody, the rest of the guests joined them in pairs. 

“I’m sorry I was late; you know how long it takes for me to dress…”

“It’s okay as long as you’re okay, sweetie.”

They shared a sweet smile and before they knew it, the first song finished. Nayeon looked at his father with almost a naughty expression, to which he nodded, with a soft chuckle. That was her sign for her to run towards the fireplace and throw herself at her cousin to give her the tightest hug, making them both fall to the floor.

“I MISSED YOU, COUSIN!”

“I can see that… but please get off me, everyone’s looking at us… You’re anything like a princess, Nayeon.”

“Oh, so you didn’t miss me?”

“Okay, fine… I missed you. But only a tiny bit.”

The younger rolled her eyes when she felt another hug, but she obliged. After a couple of minutes, they finally stood up and were about to start walking towards the stairs, but someone was calling their names. They turned around and saw an unexpected familiar face.

“OH GOD, JIHYO??? What are you doing here???” The older asked, extremely confused while hugging her childhood friend. Jihyo was the heir of the Summer duchy, and since she was almost the same age as the princess, they had been friends since they can remember. 

“That is all you have to say!? No ‘you look gorgeous, Jihyo’, no ‘ I missed you, Jihyo.’” The girl joked, giving the princess a mocking look, something only she dared to do. The three of them laughed and then she turned to Tzuyu to wrap her in a very tight hug. The height difference was almost comical. “Would you stop growing?! These kids nowadays…”

“Maybe you should stop shrinking!”

The girls laughed again, group hugging, before rushing to Nayeon’s room, they had a lot of catching up to do.

“You haven’t told us what you are doing here yet, you ass!”

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Nayeonnie… I missed Jeongyeon…” 

There was silence for a couple of seconds, before Nayeon burst into laughter, while the other two just shared serious looks.

“Wait, are you… serious? Is there something between you two? I KNEW SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED DURING THE LAST SUMMER PARTY!”

This time, it was Jihyo and Tzuyu the ones laughing loudly. 

“Don’t get me wrong… I did miss her, but that is not why I’m here. So, I’m guessing Tzuyu didn’t tell you about our plan.”

“I didn’t have the time… you got here sooner than I expected…”

“What? What plan? Guys if this is about another birthday party, please don’t, last year was a mess, you two are terrible at keeping secrets…”

“Hey, it was not that bad, you ungrateful child! But no, it’s not that either. Tzuyu, do the honors.”

“Well… we’ve been thinking… that we should… do a friend trip!”

“SURPRISE!”

“A friend trip? Where to?” The eldest seemed confused, even worried about what the girls might say next. She had a bad feeling.

“To… THE WINTER DUCHY!” Jihyo and Tzuyu said in unison. There was silence for a minute that felt like an hour.

“No. I’m sorry, guys, but you know we’re not allowed there. No one is. It’s dangerous, we don’t know who lives there anymore. Besides, I’m sure dad won’t let me.” Nayeon had gotten extremely serious and she only got like that when someone mentioned her mother. 

“Oh come on… We’ve dreamed about this since we were kids, and it’s the only part of the kingdom we’ve never visited. You’ll need to know what’s in there before you’re the queen!” Jihyo pouted, taking Nayeon’s hand. “I know it could be dangerous, but maybe it isn’t! and you two can bring Jeongyeon and Dahyun. We’ll be okay!”

“PLUS, we already talked to the king and he agreed. We’ll have to take two guards with us, but we can!!” The youngest added with a sweet smile. “We have everything planned out. We’ll leave in a couple of days and spend a week at the autumn fortress, and then we’ll start our way to "Winterland". Also, you don’t have to worry about missing the winter party, the king said we can postpone it a couple of weeks.”

“Damn… you really have thought of everything… I don’t know… let me think about it tonight, I’m still not sure…”

“It’s okay, Nayeonnie, take your time.”

“Just keep in mind that even if you don’t come, Tzuyu and I, will still go.”

Nayeon rolled her eyes and they all laughed and talked about everything and nothing after that. An hour or so later, Jeongyeon knocked on the door once again, coming in with Dahyun, who closed the door behind her. Another round of hugs and catching ups followed, with a couple of awkwardly shy looks shared between Jihyo and Jeongyeon, and a lot of comments about it by the other three. 

Like that, the evening passed by and they all went to sleep, some with more things than others running through their minds.


	2. Medallions and Puppies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mina, Sana, Momo and Chaeyoung live a normal life, or as normal as they allow themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get to know a little bit about the rest of the girls and their life. Hope you like this introductory chapter to them!! xx

“Can you light the fireplace, Momo? It’s fucking freezing and this house is too big to warm up more than room at a time.”

“Sana, babe, you’ve been living here for long enough, you should start learning how to light it up…” Momo pretended to be annoyed, but she took the wood sticks either way and threw them into the fireplace, setting fire to it with a lighter that was always on the shelf.

“Oh, I know how to light it up, I just like it when you do it.” Sana always had it her way and ended every conversation with a flirtatious tone. That was part of why and how they met, many many years ago. 

“Girls, have you seen Chae? She said she was going to do some shopping and I need her to buy some things for me” Mina came down the stairs in a bath robe and a towel around her hair, looking fresh and filling the air with a sweet coconut smell. 

“I thought she was in the bath with you, you were taking so long…” Momo winked at her, clearly messing with her with a big grin on her face. 

“I think she’s in the kitchen looking for her keys, as always…”

“YES YES, I’M COMING, ONE SEC” The youngest yelled from the kitchen, triumphant with her car keys tingling in her right hand. “What did you need, Minari?”

“Can you find me a…medallion? I’ve heard that in the Autumn duchy they make beautiful ones so… you know my taste.”

“A medallion? Seriously?”

“Shut up, I’m trying to find my aesthetic-”

“Oh, Chae, can you bring me some dark hair dye, I’m getting tired of the blond hair” Momo pouted looking at her hair, almost disgusted.

“Sure, but I’m not your errand girl. Y’all know you can go out, right? The sun is not actually going to kill you.”

“The last time I went out, you happened, so…” Mina arched her eyebrows and smirked softly. “Remember, a medallion and in case you can’t find any,”

“Yes yes, I’ll bring you a dagger for your collection. I’ll ask Miss Lee which ones you don’t have already.” 

The younger rolled her eyes and nodded. Every time she went out, Mina would ask her to bring her something but she never went out herself. She was just too scared of repeating Chae’s story. 

“Okay girls, I’ll be back in a week, don’t miss me and don’t do anything I wouldn’t!” She laughed as she walked towards the front door, with her bag on one shoulder, waving her roommates goodbye and closing the door behind her, quickly getting into her car and driving towards her destination. 

“Anything that she wouldn’t do? What does she mean, she’s the worst of us…” Momo murmured to herself but loud enough for the other girls to hear. 

“I mean, depends on what you consider the worst… Mina and you set the competition quite high… I’m probably the only saint in this family.”

“Oh Sana, sweet sweet Sana, you are the devil in disguise, that crush of yours might not be aware, but we know you. YOU are the worst one of us.” Mina stated, completely sure of herself, walking back upstairs to get changed into her pajamas. 

“YOU ARE JUST MEAN. No dinner for you today. HUH.” Sana crossed her arms and gave Momo a disapproving look when she started laughing. 

“Okay, I’ll just call her and make an order. We’re running out of food already so…” Still giggling, Momo picked her phone up and started looking for the phone number. 

“NO. Let me do it…”

“Sana, you’ve had a crush on this girl for God knows how long, would you make a move already?”

“I can’t… she’s too powerful… and I can’t risk our only food source, what happens if it goes wrong between us and we have to start going out for food… like you did…”

A saddening expression appeared in Momo’s face, but she quickly shook it off. 

“You know, I’m glad I had to go out for food at that time… I wouldn’t have met you and Mina otherwise… and you two are my best friends now so. But okay… I just want you to be happy, and she looks like she might be able to do that.”

Sana chocked up a little, sorbing her nose. She was looking down at her knees, these conversations with Momo always hit her hard. Even if they barely had said a thing, they both knew what they meant. At the end, they were the closest anyone could be, sharing blood in that kind of way really made them inseparable. Mina was just as close to them, but she locked herself in. She had never liked feeling weak and vulnerable and being that close to the girls made her feel extremely exposed. She came down again, frowning at the sight of her friends at the verge of crying. 

“Hey hey hey guys, what’s going on?? You miss Chae already?”

They chuckled and got up from the couch, walking towards Mina, forcing her into a group hug. 

“Let’s have dinner, it’s been a while since we’ve been the three of us alone.”

“The originals!”

“The powerpuff girls!” 

They all laughed and started cooking a simple meal to make their lives a bit more normal, to remember that deep down, they were still humans. 

Half an hour later, they were sitting at the kitchen table, eating mac&cheese and drinking what any other normal person would have guessed was red wine. 

Momo was moving the liquid in her glass, and smelling it as if it was fine wine, something that made the other two laugh. 

“You’re thinking about our night, right? You always get that lost in thought look when you do.” Mina said before sipping from her glass.

“Yeah… I was just thinking… over thinking, as always.” 

“Momo, you need to stop blaming yourself, we were the ones who agreed. It’s not your fault, it never was… but why are you thinking about that now?” Sana took one of Momo’s hand and caressed it, trying to comfort her. 

“Yes, exactly, we were just having fun. And we’ve had fun ever since then. All thanks to you, miss Hirai.” Mina stated softly, standing up to give Momo a back hug. 

“I know I know, but I always think that you guys would be done better if I hadn’t gone into that bar… I don’t know… I think my period is about to come and I’m oversensitive and over thinking… I think I’m gonna go to sleep.” She took her glass and left the room, not saying a word. 

Mina and Sana sat there for some time, not saying anything. Momo used to get like that during the first years, but it had been a while since she went into lockdown. She usually talked it out and they were all fine again. 

“Do you think something happened?” Sana finally spoke up.

“I don’t know… maybe? But she would’ve told us, right?”

“I guess… maybe we should do something for her, to get her mind off of it. TOMORROW! A SURPRISE! WE COULD GET HER A PUPPY!”

“Shhhhh what kind of surprise would it be if she heard us!?” 

“Right. We could get her a puppy!!” The older repeated, this time whispering. 

Mina thought about it for a minute, finally nodding. 

“But one of us will have to go out then…”


	3. Going Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sana goes out and Mina and Momo have a soft date day.

After three rounds of rock paper scissors, it was decided that Sana would be the one going out. Mina would stay with Momo at home and prepare a spa session together. Mina loved that kind of relaxing plan, just chilling with face masks and reminiscing old times, and Momo looked like she needed that. 

Sana left early in the morning, before Momo could notice she was gone. The girl would lie if she said she wasn’t nervous. Not only because she had to go out for the first time in so long, but because she had to meet Chungha. One could say Chungha was one of the bosses around there, she was in charge of delivering the food for them. And she was also the woman Sana had been thirsting for, for the past years. The girl took a deep breath, put her headphones in, and started walking; the walk to the town’s center was not too long, and just when bad habit by Golden started playing into her ears, she saw Chungha waiting for her in the middle of the square market.

“Brave of you to make me wait, huh? What are you listening to?” The girl asked, not waiting for an answer and taking one of Sana’s earphones and putting it in her own ear. They listened to the song together for a couple of seconds, Sana getting more and more nervous since they were closer than what she had expected.

“Good taste. You’re good, for now. So, you ran out of food, I’m guessing?”

Sana just chuckled nervously and nodded. “Well, yeah… but Mina and I have decided to adopt a puppy, for Momo… and I was kinda… hoping? You would help me?”

“Is that a question? You don’t seem too convinced of wanting my help, though…”

“What? NO! I mean, yes! I’m sure. I want you to help me.” By now, Sana was just a blushing mess, to what Chungha responded with just a smirk. 

They walked towards the animal shelter quietly, but it was not awkward between them. Chungha was the one to initiate the conversation again, asking about Mina and Momo. The three of them used to go out together, but ever since the Chaeyoung thing happened, Mina stopped going out, and not too long after that, Chungha got promoted, getting more and more busy; the streets got dangerous and it was no fun to go out at night anymore and their house was too far away from everything so they just stopped going out. Without them knowing, they became lowkey scared of just walking around, you never really knew what or who you could bump into. 

After a bit of catching up, the atmosphere was lighter and they got to the shelter. Sana’s eyes were sparkling at the sight of all the puppies from different breeds. She didn’t take too long to decide for one perfect for Momo, it already had a name, Boo. It just made sense for her friend. Chungha just stood there, watching fondly how the other girl was playing around with the little animals. They got all the paper work settled and they were out of there in just a couple of hours. 

“So, do you wanna come to my place? I can cook you something and we can watch a movie. Your food will take a while either way, so…”

“I- Em… Yeah, sure.” Immediately Sana texted Mina, letting her know of the situation. 

When Mina saw the text she just replied with the 👁️👅👁️ emojis, wishing her friend good luck. Momo had a confused expression on her face, Mina was not usually the type to smile at her phone.

“Is it Sana? Tell her hi, and also that she’s a bitch for going out without telling me.”

“She’s going to Chungha’s place. I guess someone will be eating GOOD today and it won’t be us-"

“OMG WHAT?! IS SHE REALLY!? Damn they grow so fast… ANYWAYS, what did you have planned?”

“You are going to learn what it feels like to experience a relax session like the ones I do. Warning, you might want to stick to this lifestyle forever.” 

The younger winked at her and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the bathroom, opening the door dramatically with a ‘tada’ gesture. 

“Here you have a facemask that I want you to put on once you get into the bath. It has all your favorite scents. I didn’t light candles because you would most likely drop them and set everything on fire. I’ll be downstairs with my mask and I’ll come pick you up in 40 minutes. A delicious and very unhealthy meal will be waiting for you.”

“Mina? You did all this before I woke up??? I was not expecting this much when you said relaxing date… Thank you…”

“Oh and I hope you’re ready for a trip to memory land!” Mina said, pushing Momo into the bathroom and getting out herself. 

The girl laid on the couch and put her mask on with some relaxing music. She didn’t know how it happened but 10 minutes in, she had started to fall asleep. She stood up, getting a bit dizzy and taking her mask off kind of confused. She shook her head and went into the kitchen to put the pizzas in the oven. 20 minutes later it was all set in the living room and Momo and her were laughing at something Chaeyoung had said when she was a newbie. 

“ I remember how naïve she was!! She kept asking if she was going to be all glittery in the sun. I think she was low-key disappointed when she found out we don’t.” The two friends burst out laughing, wiping away happy tears.

“I mean… you were pretty chill, but I remember Sana being super paranoid about the dumbest things too! Like if she had to go through a whole fashion change”

“I still don’t understand why she never gave it a try! I had so much fun with the super dark era with dramatic fits…” Mina sighed, thinking about her numerous wardrobe changes. Living for that long really made her feel like she could pull off literally any style. To which the rest of the girls definitely agreed. 

“I really liked your greek goddess phase, not gonna lie…”

“YOU JUST LIKED THAT I WAS HALF NAKED THE WHOLE TIME!”

“Maybe…” 

The day went by with the two girls tired from laughing. It was dinner time and Mina got a text from Sana in which she said that it was too late to come back and that she would spend the night at Chungha’s. Momo and Mina were a little worried but at the end of the day, Sana was stronger than what she liked to pretend, so she’d be fine. They went to sleep and were awaken in the morning by a loud door bang, followed by a sweet singing voice.

“C’mon sleeping beauties, Mama Sana is back and you have to help me with the food!” 

They didn’t take too long to go downstairs, they were dying to know what had happened the previous night but when they got down, they saw what was only a surprise to Momo. 

“Is that… a PUPPY?! WHAT IS IT DOING HERE AND WHY IS IT SO CUTE???”

“His name is Boo and he is very pleased to meet his rightful owner!” 

Momo looked at both of her friends, getting teary eyes. She was already sitting on the floor petting the little animal, who was already very fond of her. 

“Wait what? Are you serious? Is this because of our conversation the other day?! And yesterday was part of it too?! Guys… you- you really shouldn’t have done this…”

“We were just worried about you, you looked like you needed to relax and keep your mind busy and… well, we couldn’t come up with anything else so…” Mina said, patting Momo’s head, as if she was a little kid. Momo stood up, crying, to hug her friends.

“I don’t know what I would do without you…”

“Lucky you, we have all eternity together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda short but soft chapter, i'll probs post the 4th one sooner !! I was not sure about including what happened between Sana and Chungha but if you guys want it, i can definetly add it !! Also, I know for now nothing is very explicit BUT have faith in me, everything will be explained in the future!! Thanks for reading xx


	4. Old friends and... new friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls begin their trip and get to their first stop, the Autumn duchy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey, as promised this chapter came in sooner. It was originally going to be divided in two but one of them was too short and it didn't really made sense separating them so it's a bit longer !!   
> new characters literally for self-indulgence bcs i love them and I think I can do fun things with them in here!  
> hope y'all like it !!

Nayeon didn’t sleep that night. At all. She kept rolling around the bed, thinking of the trip, of her friends but specially of her mom. The woman who had given it all for her and had passed her light onto her. A single tear fell from her eye, leaving a stain in the pillowcase, quickly followed by a river of tears that only stopped when she unconsciously fell asleep. Nayeon never cried in front of her friends or her father; she had built so many walls over the years she was like a fortress by now. A good image to portray as a queen, one that fell apart every time she was alone in her room. She had never fully accepted her mother’s death, that is why some people said that she looked just fine. But she was hurting inside. She had so much pain that she never let out. 

She looked fine because she had to, but that idea her friends had, and his father agreeing to it just caught her by surprise.

The next morning, she woke up with swollen eyes and looked at herself in the big mirror with a sigh. Just then, she heard the familiar 3 knocks on her door. 

“Come in,”

“Good morning… how are you doing?” Jeongyeon had the ability of making Nayeon talk about the things she never said out loud and Nayeon hated her for it.

“I barely had any sleep… this stupid trip wouldn’t let me. Why did dad even agree? Ugh.”

“You know him, if he agreed he probably had his reasons. Maybe he thinks it would be good to you. And you’ve always wanted to go there, so…”

“Yeah, I know, but we were kids when we talked about it and… it was different, Jeong.” And Jeongyeon knew exactly what she meant, her mother was still alive then. It had always been a dream of hers to go with her friends and her mother and going without her probably felt wrong. 

“Don’t you think that she would have wanted you to go either way? You know all of the stories, aren’t you curious to find if they’re true?”

Nayeon sighed and nodded, a small grin appearing on her face as she remembered everything her mother had told her.

“Okay…”

“OKAY? YOU’LL COME? WELL, THAT WAS EASIER THAN EXPECTED”

“Oh, shut up, you just want to go to spend time alone with Jihyo, you pervert.” Nayeon finally laughed and relaxed. Her friend really knew how to click on her, with the slightest effort. 

“Maybe… ANYWAYS, I’LL GO TELL EVERYONE. GET DRESSED AND COME DOWNSTAIRS, BREAKFAST IS WAITING!!!”

Jeongyeon left like that, all happy and giggly, proud of herself of having convinced the princess. 

When Nayeon finally came down, her friends were all waiting at the big table, trying to hide their smiles. 

“Y’all can stop making a big deal out of this, I can still change my mind!” She sat down and Tzuyu talked her through every detail of the plan, with Jihyo adding some side comments. 

“We’ll leave tomorrow morning so please be ready by 8 am.”  
The princess spent the rest of the day packing, just the essential stuff, and went to sleep early. The next morning, a very loud Jihyo entered her room without knocking, to what Nayeon responded with a look that could have killed the other girl. 

“Good morning, princess, I hope you are ready for the first day of the trip of our lives! It’s a great day, the sun is out, and your father has already decided on which handsome guards will come with us: Jaebeom and Jinyoung. They’ve been around here for so long, why haven’t you introduced them to our group they seem nice,”

“Jihyo… can you… SHUT UP FOR ONE SECOND, I just woke up and you are telling me about men?! Are you new here?! Besides, weren’t Jeong and you having a thing?” 

“Well, excuse me, for being as thriving bisexual! And I don’t like men, I’m just inevitably attracted to them!”

“Is that supposed to mean that you /like/ Jeongyeon?!”

Jihyo panicked but was saved by the door opening. 

Jeongyeon was met with surprised looks from both of the girls and a Nayeon that was trying too hard not to laugh.

“Hm…ooookay. . . you are weird. Everyone is ready to leave, please get dressed, you’ll have breakfast in the car. And stop being weird.”

Five hours and a not so very entertaining car drive later, they got to the Autumn duchy. 

“Not much has changed, so let the service show you to your rooms so you can leave your bags and then we can go to the garden and prepare the rest of the trip.” Tzuyu, despite being the youngest, was the more royal like, formal even when there was no need to and the rest of the girls had always found it funny, at the they were just like a group of friends. 

“Yes, Your Grace.” Replied the princess, taking a rather dramatic bow, at which even the guards laughed.

The girls were soon settled in their rooms and it felt like a big sleepover. The duke offered them a separate room for each of them, but they were so excited to be reunited that they declined. Jihyo and Nayeon were paired as well as Jeongyeon and Dahyun, being Tzuyu the only one who didn’t change rooms. 

“So, tell me, can I expect you to leave the room tonight to go meet your true love?”

“NAYEON SHUT UP! She is not my true love! At least I can’t confirm it yet.”

“You can’t deny it either, then.” The older wiggled her eyebrows, just to bother Jihyo, who got easily frustrated and replied only by throwing a pillow at Nayeon. 

“Don’t jinx it, okay? For now, it’s just… physical. And we are doing fine like that so…”

“Okay okay… just be careful, I don’t want any broken hearts.”

“There won’t be! Have a little faith in me, Nayeonnie. Now, let’s go, I’m starving.

The rest of the afternoon went by uneventful. The girls played games and enjoyed themselves, only at night, when they were having some drinks, Tzuyu informed the group of something unexpected.

“So, guys, I wanted to let you know that someone will be passing by tomorrow. I had completely forgotten and well. She’s a friend of mine so please don’t scare her away.”

“A friend? You have friends beside us?” Jihyo asked, genuinely surprised.

“Who is she? Are you sure she is just a friend?” This time was the princess asking, not letting the girl reply.

“She is definitely more than a friend. I’ve seen you two together and that is not… friendship. I am friends with her. You are like… lovers or something.” Dahyun took the liberty of replying because she knew Tzuyu would never be as clear and she gained an assertive look in consequence, Jeongyeon just laughing contemplating the comical conversation.

“Yes, I do have more friends, as hard as that is to believe. And yes, I am sure she is just a friend.” She replied annoyed.

“Even if we have some benefits, we are nothing more than just that. Friends, with benefits.”

“But do you wish to be more? Come on, you are a catch, and not just because you are to be the Autumn duchess.” 

Jeongyeon spat out her thoughts, which made Tzuyu’s expression to shift to a completely serious one.

“It doesn’t matter what I want because, first, my father wants to secure the linage. And second, she’s not the type to compromise. She just cannot. So, don’t push it and for god’s sake don’t even think about bringing this up tomorrow.” The youngest said standing up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I will be going to bed. Please don’t take too long out here, I really want you to look presentable tomorrow, she’s important to me.”

Tzuyu left and it was silent until she had disappeared into the house.

“Was I too blunt?” 

“No, Jeongyeon, she is just nervous. She gets like this every time she’s gonna see her.” Dahyun tried to reassure her, she was used to Tzuyu’s mood swings when her crush was the topic of conversation. 

“Where did you even meet her?”

“Just walking around the village. It actually was two years ago, when we were buying your Christmas presents. She was doing the same for her friends and Tzuyu and her reached for the same thing and, ever since then she comes visit us twice a month or so.”

“So, she’s not from Autumn?” the princess asked curiously, she was suddenly excited to meet the girl who had managed to catch her cousin’s attention, something which everyone knew was not easy.

“No… we suspect she lives in the border with Winter, but we don’t know where exactly, she never told us and when we ask, she always changes the topic.” The young maid shrugged, not really caring about where the girl lived since, she was always the one visiting them and didn’t really seem dangerous.

“Hm… that’s weird… but I guess that as long as Tzuyu doesn’t get too emotionally involved, secrets cannot harm anybody…” Jihyo added, discreetly looking at Jeongyeon, thinking of their own situation.

Dahyun nodded, sighing softly because she knew the youngest had been emotionally involved from that very first day. Dahyun was the type to watch from a distance because it gave her perspective about what could be going through her lady’s mind; she had notice the sparkle on her eyes every time she got a message from the girl, every fond smile whenever her name was mentioned, and every “do I look good?” when the girl was visiting. Dahyun knew it was her first love, but was waiting for Tzuyu to realize herself before saying anything to the rest to the girls. Her thoughts were intruded by Nayeon’s voice and one last question about the girl.

“So, what’s her name?”

“Oh? Chaeyoung.”


	5. Showers can't fix the matters of the heart

Tzuyu woke up at 6am, startled from a nightmare. All of her friends absolutely despised Chaeyoung and decided to do a satanic ritual on them both for some reason; it was very bloody and graphic; she didn’t really know were all that came from, it had been a long time since the last gore movie she had seen. She sat up and wiped away some tiny sweat drops falling down her forehead, sighing. ‘Why am I so worried, I’m sure they’ll love her… ‘, ‘Why do I even care about them liking her, we’re not getting married or anything-’, her thoughts were going too fast for her to catch up and suddenly she found herself picturing a wedding day, Chaeyoung waiting for her in the altar in a beautiful and very shiny suit, and her walking towards her. As soon as she realized what she was thinking, she shook her head and got up. ‘I need a shower….’

In the next room, Nayeon woke up, stretching herself a bit too loudly, waking up the girl next to her, who, for some reason was in the same bed as her, despite having a perfectly fine bed on the other side of the room.

“Nayeon you take up so much space…” It wasn’t the sleepy voice Nayeon was expecting which made her turn her head and open her eyes widely.

“Dahyun? What are you doing here? We didn’t…. do anything, right?” The princess didn’t remember having drank that much the night before, but only if she was just tipsy, she lost control easily, so she didn’t trust herself that much.

“WHAT? No, oh god, Tzuyu would kill me…” The younger girl said, laughing softly and sitting up, resting her back on the headboard. “You probably don’t remember but you were the first one to leave after Tzu… and well… I had to follow not much later because… well, Jihyo was all over Jeong and they were very drunk, and I didn’t want to third wheel anymore. I assumed they would need a room to themselves, so I came here… I don’t really know why I didn’t use the other bed, I was just too drunk to think straight,”

“Ohhh, that’s okay, I sleep better with someone besides me anyways…” Nayeon smiled softly, almost as a thank you and then the information she had been given, clicked on her brain, standing up in the bed with a jump. “WAIT YOU ARE TELLING ME THEY SPENT THE NIGHT TOGETHER, ONE ROOM APART??? WE HAVE TO GO SEE IF THEY’RE STILL THERE, I’M GONNA TEASE JEONG ABOUT THIS, FOREVER.”

“Nayeon wait! Give them some-… privacy” But the princess was already gone.

Nayeon stormed out of the room and hurried to the room that was supposed to be shared by Dahyun and Jihyo. She knocked on the door two times but didn’t really wait for a response, opening the door dramatically. She found a fully dressed Jihyo, with her pajamas hanging over her arm, reaching for the doorknob. A panicked look covered her face and she brought her index to her lips, almost begging Nayeon to be quiet, but it was too late. Jeongyeon was already sitting up, rubbing her eyes and looking slightly disappointed for not finding Jihyo next to her.

“You can leave, it’s okay…”

Jihyo closed her eyes tightly and sighed because she could feel that she had hurt the other girl but couldn’t gather the courage to even look at her. Nayeon stepped aside, completely serious, giving Jihyo a disapproving look and the girl just walked out of there. She needed a shower too.

Nayeon walked into the room, carefully closing the door behind her and sat on the edge of the bed, patting Jeongyeon’s leg with a sympathetic smile.

“Don’t give me that look, I’m okay. This means nothing to me.”

“It completely means something when you look this broken just because she was going to leave before you woke up…” The princess did not mean to pick on her, she was just stating the facts. 

“Ugh… I should’ve never gotten into this; I know how she is…”

“Come on, Jeongie, give her time, she’s just bad with feelings…”

“No. She’s not bad with feelings, she just doesn’t want to deal with them, which is different, and at many levels…worse.” Jeongyeon had always had a clear vision of what she wanted in life and ever since she met Jihyo and they started flirting, the girl had become a part of that vision. Maybe that had been a bit hurried, but they clicked so well together that she couldn’t help but to imagine scenarios with her. “It’s my fault really. She said from the very first day that there would be only sex between us. And I was fine with that. Or at least I thought I was…” another sigh escaped her lips and she turned around, hiding her face in the pillow. Nayeon immediately moved closer, brushing her friend’s hair with her fingers, she knew that calmed her down.

“Jeongie… I don’t know much about love but…my mom always told me that love is never easy, but if it’s meant to be, it will be. I know Jihyo loves you because I’ve seen how she looks at you, so maybe give her time… and spend some time apart. That way you can ease your heart, and take some perspective…” 

“I never talked about love-” The maid mumbled against the pillow, groaning softly, already exhausted and the day had just begun. The princess only laughed and patted her head one last time before standing up.

“Let’s go, I bet Tzu is a nervous wreck, that should be fun. Take a shower to clear your mind and come downstairs, I smelled breakfast and I think I might stay here longer just for the food!” Nayeon said brightly, almost singing as she walked to the door. The younger had already gotten out of bed when she heard Nayeon calling her again.

“What?” A sad expression still tinted her face.

“You’ll be okay.” And she finally left the room, trying not to be too worried and thinking about whether she could really trust Jihyo with this. “I need a shower too…”

(…)

Breakfast was a very awkward exchange of looks between Jihyo and Jeongyeon, a lot of whispering between Dahyun and Nayeon and a very fidgety Tzuyu, rapidly bouncing her right leg, making half the table shake. Finally, Dahyun decided to break the silence.

“So, I think we can all go to the market this morning, maybe eat out and plan something fun for the afternoon. Tzu, we can take them to the lake we showed Chae last time, I bet they’re gonna love it!”

“W-what? Oh yeah, sure. We have to wait for Chaeyoung to arrive here, though, she said she had something for me.”

“A kiss?” Nayeon teased, making kiss noises, which made the rest of the girls copy her, laughing. She was too good at making every situation less awkward or tense. The only one still serious was, of course, Tzuyu.

“SHUT UP. I really hope this is you, getting rid of all the teasing before Chaeyoung gets here, because I don’t know how she would react!!”

“Oh, come oooon, Tzu, you’re no fun! I hope she is a bit more…”

“A bit less Tzuyu?” Jihyo interrupted, trying to hold back her laughter.

“YES!” The oldest exclaimed excitedly as if Jihyo had given the correct answer to the 1-million-dollar question.

“HEY! I’M NOT THAT TERRIBLE, I KNOW HOW TO LOOSEN UP. I’M JUST CONSTANTLY OVERTHINKING AND I LIKE HER A LOT!”

Tzuyu covered her mouth with her hands as soon as those words came out and there was a silence that could be cut with a knife; the rest of the girls were looking at each other, eyes wide open, not really knowing what to say because they could not believe that Tzuyu had really let her tongue slipped like that.

“Hey, Tzu, it’s okay, you are allowed to like her, okay? There is nothing wrong with that. Catching feelings is not something you can control, and you don’t have to stop yourself from doing so. You know you have us here to talk about it if you need to.” Jihyo told the youngest, as she patted her head lovingly since she was sitting beside her. Jeongyeon’s blood was boiling when she heard that comment and scoffed loudly thinking how much of a hypocrite Jihyo was being.

“Something to add, Jeongyeon?” Jihyo turned to her, with a very serious look. That was the first time she was that cold to the other girl since they met.

“Yeah, actually. Of course, there is nothing wrong with falling for people but, she should be careful, we don’t want her heart broken and as she told us last night, that girl had no plan on committing. She should consider her options before she falls in deep.” She replied, looking at Jihyo intensely in the eye, but not the kind of intensity they had before. Now it was angry, maybe not even angry but frustrated at how the other girl behaved. Jeongyeon cleared her throat and stood up. “Excuse me.” She left the room, half of her breakfast still in her plate.

“What happened between you two?” Tzuyu, who was completely oblivious to their flirting and definitely unaware of the events that took place that morning, had a very confused expression, and was looking for a reply from any of the girls.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure they’ll fix it, right, Jihyo?” Nayeon said with a sarcastic smile that let her know that she really meant ‘you better fix this.’

Jihyo looked down, regretful and exhausted, as if she had been thinking about how to fix the situation for so long but she never managed to find a solution. The thing is, she wasn’t really the type to ask for help, she didn’t like doing it because it made her feel like she could not do it by herself. That is one of the reasons why she was the only one of them who didn’t have a maid. Neither Nayeon nor Tzuyu really understood why because they had never treated Dahyun or Jeongyeon like actual maids. They were more like life companions. Like confidants who can read them just by how their eyes looked. Jihyo always said that she wanted to be 100% independent because she planned on ruling the duchy by herself. She never liked the idea of marriage and settling down with a person for her whole life. It just wasn’t for her; but not even herself really knew why; she would lie if she said she hadn’t thought about changing her mind when Jeongyeon started flirting with her, but there was always a voice in the back of her head that told her not to fall, not to commit, to run away and be alone; because that was the only way of not getting hurt.

(…)

Tzuyu had been standing in front of the door, waiting for the doorbell to ring, and when it finally did, she jumped a little on the spot, startled, getting a bit self-conscious since she realized that she had been staring at the wood carvings in her front door for 15 minutes. Her cheeks blushed and she sighed, trying to calm herself down, unsuccessfully. When she opened the door, she saw the back of the short haired girl, who was doing some doodling of a couple of birds hopping among the leaves. Tzuyu tapped her shoulder softly to catch her attention and as soon as the girl turned around, she threw herself, almost making them both fall to the floor. The taller girl quickly hugged her back, laughing softly, the blush still on her cheeks. The hug was interrupted by Dahyun clearing her throat loudly, accompanied by giggles from the rest of the girls. Chaeyoung, who had been completely oblivious, blinded by Tzuyu, blushed when she realized she had an audience. That didn’t stop her from walking to Dahyun and smiling cheekily at her until she gave in and performed a weird handshake they had designed the last time they saw each other.

Nayeon, standing in between Jihyo and Jeongyeon, was just admiring the picture, they really were like their beloved children. She cleared her throat and took a step forward.

“Hey, I’m Nayeon, Tzuyu’s cousin. A pleasure.” She didn’t like overusing her title because she didn’t like when people got all tense around her just because she was the princess. 

“I’m Chaeyoung! Tzuyu’s… friend?” She giggled nervously, they never determined what they were, but she knew that friends was not the correct tag. It took her a couple of seconds, but she eventually realized who Nayeon was. “OH? Tzuyu’s cousin?? As in Nayeon the princess? The heir? Oh god… the girls are gonna love this… You look really different from what I had seen. I mean that in a good way, of course!!” She got too nervous and started rambling and kept bowing even when Nayeon told her she didn’t need to.

“PLEASE calm down, I’m really not that much, I’m just my father’s daughter, you can be chill with me, I’m not going to hang you for dishonor or something…” They all laughed, and Chaeyoung relaxed a bit, with definitely too many things in mind.

“I’m sorry I tried calling you to warn you about them being here, but you wouldn’t answer so…” Tzuyu said apologetically and realized Jihyo and Jeongyeon were still waiting to be introduced. “OH! Chaeyoung, this is Jeongyeon, another friend and well… Nayeon’s maid.”

“Nice to meet you, Chaeyoung. You are kind of tiny, right? Pocket size, almost,” Jeongyeon laughed softly, feeling weirdly comfortable with the girl she had just met, and extended her hand for her to shake.

The younger complied with a firm handshake, rolling her eyes, already used to the jokes about her height. “A pleasure. I have the feeling that we’re going to get along just fine.” She tried to sound sarcastic but the smile in her face showed her dimple, giving away that she was being honest.

“… and this is Jihyo, future duchess of the summer duchy.”

“Damn, I am suddenly mingling among royalty, I’m not used to this….” She smiled at Jihyo who just smiled back in response; her mind was still busy from what had happened earlier, and she was not in her talkative self. “Y’all are really so much prettier than what the media shows… I told her Tzuyu the same thing when we met,”

“Well, you’re no one to talk, you’re beautiful! And you have dimples, which is just a bonus…” The princess said sincerely, causing a blush in the younger girl.

“ANYWAYS.” Tzuyu cleared her throat, turning dramatically towards Chaeyoung. “Do you mind if they come along? They’re staying for the week before we start our trip.”

“Sure! The more the merrier, and I’d love to get to know them better. But also, a trip? Where are you guys going?” 

“To the Winter duchy. It was hard to convince Nayeon but… there is no turning back now,” Dahyun answered, not being able to hide the excitement in her voice.

“The Winter duchy? I’m not sure that’s a good idea… it cannot even be considered a duchy anymore…” Chaeyoung replied with a frown, a worried expression covered her face as if she was thinking hard about something.

“Oh, come on, are you a coward, Chaeyoung? You didn’t look like one. Plus, a couple of guards are coming with us, it’ll be okay! Now, let’s go do some shopping!!” Jeongyeon said excitedly, not wanting to allow any thoughts of regret in the girls, specially in Nayeon. She took the princess’ hand and stepped out the door, following the path out of the royal castle. Jihyo and Dahyun followed closely and Tzuyu was about to do the same when Chaeyoung grabbed her wrist to hold her back; she was still serious, which made Tzuyu slightly scared since she had never seen her like that.

“Tzuyu, it is very dangerous going there. You must change their minds.”

“Chae… it was partially my idea. Honestly, I’m curious to see where you live… and we think Nayeon needs this, it had always been a dream for us.”

“You’re not listening to me. You shouldn’t go there. And you know why, I’ve told you about this plenty of times. You just can’t go.” The girl realized she sounded as if she was giving orders and sighed. She looked down and held Tzuyu’s hands but the youngest moved them away quickly, she was clearly mad.

“No, you’re the one not listening. We’re going. I don’t need your permission. You can either help us or move out the way.”

A long pause was interrupted by Jeongyeon screaming at them from the garden’s front door to hurry. Tzuyu started walking, leaving Chaeyoung behind since she delivered no answer. The girl sighed and finally gave in.

“Ugh… okay. I’ll help you. But just because I don’t want you dead.” 

A smile appeared on the youngest’s face when she heard that, glad Chaeyoung didn’t see her. She turned around and looked at her crush softly, waiting for her to catch up, finally meeting the rest of the girls.

“What was taking you too so long?” Dahyun was intrigued since it had looked almost like as argument.

“Nothing. Chae is coming with us in the trip. She’ll help us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought of Don't kill my vibe by Sigrid... idk it just made sense to me.  
> A bit of drama that will most likely lead to MORE drama. Jihyo has... baggage, let's say. Im very excited to write the following chapters, things are about to go doooown hahaha. Sorry for any grammatical mistakes.  
> xx


	6. Crystal water, clear thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls go shopping and have a swim in the lake. Not much happens but it's important for Jihyo's and Jeongyeon's development.

The girls walked down the streets in pairs, the crunching of the leaves under their feet, filling the silence that conquered them sometimes. Dahyun and Jihyo leading the group, catching up in the one-night stands Jihyo had had for the past months.

“I really expected… more? That’s unusual in you. Is it because of Jeongyeon?” The younger asked, genuinely concerned about the change in Jihyo’s behavior.

“What? Jeongyeon? No. We’re casual. We’re nothing. She knows how I am and she’s okay with it. Or at least she was. I don’t know. Whatever we were I’m pretty sure we’re not it anymore.” She had started rumbling, talking quickly, her words tumbling out of her mouth, constantly touching her hair nervously. Her attempt to look unbothered, a complete failure. 

“Hey, Jihyo, chill. I was just asking. It’s just weird that you’ve only slept with two people in these past 5 months and one of them was Jeongyeon last night.”

“Don’t judge my sexual life. Maybe I’m… growing up. Or something like that.” She muttered that last part and if Dahyun heard it, she didn’t mention it.

“Maybe you should stop pretending you don’t care about Jeongyeon. And I’m not talking about caring in a ‘friends care for each other’ kind of way.” Dahyun just shrugged and Jihyo sighed, trying to focus solely on the crunching under her feet. 

A few steps behind, enough for them not to hear their friends’ conversation, were Jeongyeon and Nayeon, the latter clinging onto Jeongyeon’s arm. 

“You do realize we look like an old retired couple walking to the park to feed the pigeons.” 

“Yes, Jeongie, that is the essence of our relationship, and please don’t pretend you don’t love it.” They both chuckled, but a glimpse of a sad smile remained on the younger’s face.

“Hey, come on. We’re all together since god knows how long. We’re gonna buy some random stuff we probably don’t need and then we’ll see that lake the girls talked about. I know you’d rather have Jihyo holding your hand but I’m your next best option, so give me a true smile before I start acting like a monkey for you to laugh.” The princess said with her serious tone, the one Jeongyeon knew couldn’t disobey. She closed her eyes and turned her head towards Nayeon, smiling softly. When their eyes locked, she found the typical Nayeon in cheer up mode, making silly faces in front of her. Quickly her soft smile turned into a loud laughter, followed by a snort and an eye roll. 

“You’re so stupid, I swear… But thank you. I don’t think this weird feeling is going to go away any time soon, though… Ugh this is so frustrating, we were literally nothing but now that we’re even less I can’t help but feeling… I don’t know… disappointed, I guess.”

“Disappointed? I thought you’d say straight up sad…”

“Yeah but… it’s almost more disappointed in myself. I really thought I’d be enough for her to change her mind about relationships and … love.” Jeongyeon sighed and looked down, kicking softly the leaves; Nayeon just leaned closer and rested her head on her arm, squeezing it softly for support, to let the other girl know that she was there and that she’ll be okay. Sometimes words are not needed, and Nayeon knew that at this time, there was nothing she could say to Jeongyeon that would cheer her up.

The last pair of girls were more separated from the rest. Walking side by side, their hands softly brushing against each other, creating a constant blush on the younger’s cheeks.

“So, where did this trip idea came from? It’s weird you didn’t mention it last month.” Chaeyoung commented, not mad about not knowing, just curious.

“I don’t actually know… Jihyo texted me one day, saying we should plan something for Nayeon. The anniversary of her mom’s death is close, and we wanted to get her mind away from it, but we couldn’t think of anything. It was actually when you came by that I thought of taking a trip down there…and Jihyo thought it was a great idea.” Tzuyu said softly and shrugged, trying to make it seem like it’s not a big deal, even if she knew that her companion was definitely worrying.

“That’s a nice gesture… she’ll definitely have her mind busy there. There’s… a lot to see. And a lot to beware of.”

“I know, that’s why we brought those royal guards and… I actually thought of you… giving us a tour or something…” She giggled softly, almost sarcastically, remembering how they had just argued about this.

“Tzu… you don’t tour around the winter county… sure there’s also a square market and fancy castles but… people are not nice to strangers, because they are not used to seeing them. Especially if those strangers claim to be from the royalty… They’re not very… fond of you. So, my first advice is to… leave the fancy expensive clothes behind and just try to blend in.” Chaeyoung shrugged, arching her right brow as she returned to look at the girl, who radiated royalty vibes, she almost had her own glow. It was going to be hard for her to blend in when she looked like the most ethereal being on earth. Chaeyoung shook her head to wipe that thought away. 

“Thank you, Chae… I know you don’t completely agree with this and that you have your reasons so, thank you.” The younger girl was really touched that she was actually getting her help, she expected her to be more reticent to it.

“It’s okay. Anything for you, Tzuyu. But I really hope I don’t have to play the hero.” She laughed, ruffling her hair before pulling it back with her fingers, trying not to look at the girl besides her, scare that she would actually freeze if she looked too much at her beauty. 

Tzuyu blushed a bit as she looked at the girl playing with her hair, she really was something else; even if she tried to play it cool, she was a softy underneath. Both of them were. For each other. 

( … )

After a 15-minute walk, they got to the beginning of the market street. Some curious people would stare at them, recognizing Tzuyu and guessing who the rest of the girls were, bowing softly out of respect and walking away not to disturb them. The market extended through a long and wide street; there were shop stalls on one side of the street, leaving the rest of it for people to walk and look around the different items they were selling. There were food stalls, that always caught Dahyun’s eyes and the girl dragged Jeongyeon with her, getting excited over some sweet and sour candies. Tzuyu and Jihyo automatically walked towards the first shop selling glamorous clothes; they were fascinated by the different tone of the colors and the detailed embroidery, specially Jihyo, who was used to a different fashion, one with very bright colors and shiny designs. Even if she loved the fashion produced in her duchy, the delicacy of the work and the warmness of the colors in the Autumn duchy just made her fall even more in love with it. She wrapped a soft orange pashmina around her shoulders and instantly felt as if she was being hugged. 

“How does it look?” She asked Tzuyu, almost posing for her as if it was some kind of fashion show.

“It looks great on you, that color really enhances your eyes. You should buy it.” The younger said, with a soft smile, looking around the shop, not managing to find anything of her liking.

“Will do!” Jihyo- walked to the cashier and handed the woman the item, smiling excitedly at her.

“Is it your first time here?” The woman asked while she wrapped the pashmina in a soft paper almost as she wanted to protect it.

“Not exactly… It’s been a while since I’ve come here to Autumn, but it is my first time here at the market. And honestly I don’t know why Tzuyu hadn’t brought us here before…” The girl laughed softly and turned around when she felt the presence of the duchess-to-be getting close. Immediately, the cashier vowed and handed the bag to Jihyo, who handed her the money. “Keep the change,”

“Well thank you very much, my lady. I hope you come back soon enough.” The woman smiled softly and vowed. Jihyo thought that she couldn’t be much older than her and that in any other occasion she would have flirted with her, but Tzuyu was there too and it’d be too awkward. And there was also the small issue with Jeongyeon. 

The two girls kept on walking, Jihyo swinging around her bag, happy with her purchase and they saw Nayeon and Chaeyoung walking together with a very specific direction. 

“Well, they seem to be getting along just fine.” Jihyo- said, slightly surprised

“Mhm… that’s good. Specially after the bonding session they’re going to have now. I know where they’re heading.” The younger said, with a content smile, glad that their friends were nothing like the nightmare she had had. 

(…)

A glimpse of something shiny instantly caught Nayeon’s eyes and her body drove her towards the shop where it had come from. As soon as Chaeyoung realized were the princess was headed, she caught up to her.

“So, daggers, huh?” The younger asked next to her as they contemplated the shop window, displaying a variety of daggers, swords, knives of all shorts and types.

“Oh? Yeah… I don’t know why Tzu has never mentioned this shop exists… they are all so beautiful…” She said, finally deciding to enter the shop, not really waiting for the girl next to her, she was just too mesmerized.

“You don’t have any shops like this up there in Spring?” Chae asked confused, as she followed her into the shop.

“Yeah no, we do, it’s just that all the special daggers are directly sent to palace because they know I will want to buy them so… I never have the opportunity to, you know, look around and find new pieces…” Still absorbed by the items, picking one up and moving it around, appreciating every detail. She drew the long knife out of the beautiful cover, causing a sharp noise that startled Chaeyoung.

“You… collect them or something…?” The girl with the dagger was looking kind of scary and Chae took a few steps away from her, looking at another section.

“Yeah. Ever since I was a kid.” The princess put the dagger back with a melancholic look in her eyes and moved next to Chaeyoung. “My mom gave me my fist dagger when I was 8. Probably too soon but… it had belonged to her family for decades and she wanted me to have it. It’s my most treasured thing, I always carry if with me.” She smiled softly and patted the side of her thigh, letting Chaeyoung know that the blade was there under her flowery dress, winking at her afterwards. The truth is, the princess had never used it, she had never had the chance to, but that didn’t stop her from carrying it around her thigh or hanging from her belt. She just loved feeling powerful. She was often surrounded by too many protections, but she only felt safe with her dagger near her. Chaeyoung widened her eyes, extremely surprised by the girl who claimed to be the princess.

“You really are nothing like Tzuyu, huh?” 

“I’m the fun one of the family, yeah, so don’t fall for me. I will actually use this with you if you hurt Tzu.” She laughed, obviously joking but something inside Chaeyoung twisted a bit; Nayeon sometimes had a weird expression to her, that made her question when she was actually joking.

“What about you? Are you obsessed with swords too?”

“Not really… like I get that they’re pretty and all that but… One of my best friends is. She collects daggers too, and swords, really, anything that could have been common during the middle ages. I’m just here to get them for her.” The girl shrugged with a warm smile as she kept looking around but after not finding anything of her liking, she walked to the cashier. “Hello, Mrs. Lee! You got anything for me?”

“Chaeyoung! I almost didn’t recognize you with that new hair! It looks great on you! And… yes, I was waiting for you to ask…” The clerk said with a cheekily smile as she pulled out a dagger with mint green details. Nayeon was now next to Chaeyoung, admiring the piece in front of them. 

“Wow, you must really love your friend…” The princess said, almost scared to touch the knife, guessing it was not exactly cheap.

“Yeah, I love her but I’m not paying if that’s what you mean, she is. She just doesn’t go out much, specially not down here.” Chaeyoung laughed softly as she handed the money and put the dagger inside her backpack.

“How so?”

“It’s… complicated? We didn’t have a good experience when we met… I mean it was a great experience, but the consequences not so much so… she’s a bit… scared I guess.” The younger laughed nervously as they walked out of the shop after saying goodbye to Mrs. Lee.

“Is this best friend also an ex or something?” Nayeon asked out of curiosity, she found the story kind of weird, not wanting to go out just because of that? The detective within the princess was starting to awaken.

“What? How did you- No. I mean yes. But not ex exactly. We just used to sleep together. A long time ago. Like, A LONG time ago.” Chaeyoung stuttered and rubbed the back of her neck, relieved to find Tzuyu when she looked up. “Let’s go, they’re waiting for us…”

Nayeon looked at the smaller girl suspiciously but decided not to act on it, she had nothing to prove and the girl was probably uncomfortable talking to an almost stranger about her past sex life.

(…)

Once all the girls were reunited, they changed directions and walked towards the lake. It was already lunch time and, of course, Dahyun and Jeongyeon had taken care of the food and only the smell was making their mouths water. 

After a while, they got to the end of the path which disappeared into a small forest. They stumbled through its thickness and when they reached the other side, they saw the lake. Incredibly translucent water filled with tiny fish; it almost felt like glittery sparkles every time the fishes hit the surface. 

“Wow… why haven’t you brough us here before? This is beautiful…” Jihyo muttered, eyes wide open taking in every bit of the scenario.

“We didn’t know it was here… we found it by mistake. We got kinda lost because we were trying new paths and… we ended up here. I think not many people know about it because its empty almost always.” Dahyun explained, laying a big blanket on the floor, and sat down, starting to unpack the food. 

As soon as the rest smelled the food, they sat on the blanket, forgetting about the imagery surrounding them. They ate all the food as if they were in a hurry; it was too delicious to wait and distract themselves with silly talk. When they finished, some of them laid back and started to fall asleep, others just sat there, admiring the water, only Jeongyeon walked towards it.

“Do you guys think we could have a swim here?” Jeongyeon asked, with her feet in the shore. She had taken her shoes off and was enjoying the fresh water.

“I guess? I don’t think there could be any problems, it’s part of the duchy so…” Tzuyu answered, shrugging her shoulders.

“Not problems, but what about monsters…?” Chaeyoung added in a whisper, wiggling her eyebrows before letting out a loud laughter.

“Shut up! Now I’m conditioned and won’t enjoy the water.” Dahyun crossed her arms over her chest, pretending to be bummed out but instantly laughing about it. 

“We could come back tomorrow, we have plenty of days, and a relaxing day in the lake will be good before starting the trip.” Nayeon commented and it was decided. 

Before leaving for the palace, the girls stopped by the shops to buy bathing suits, none of them had thought about this week as a beach vacation, but this was probably the closest to it.

(…)

The next day they all woke up late and decided they’d go to the lake after having lunch. This time, Chaeyoung would meet them there, she said she had some things to do before. When they did arrive, Chaeyoung was already laying in a towel in her bathing suit, a white one piece, with drawings of strawberries all over it. 

“You really picked the rebellious one, huh?” Nayeon whispered at Tzuyu, pointing at the multiple tattoos that the girl had.

“Sure, because carrots are super rebellious.” The younger said simply, rolling her eyes and placing her towel next to her crush. She gave her a little peck in the lips, making the rest of the girls to coo at them but they chose to ignore it. 

Jihyo, who was wearing just a long dress, was the first one to take it off and hurry towards the lake, not saying a word, submerging into the waters and diving for a bit.

“She’s been acting super weird with all of us, haven’t you guys talked about it?” Dahyun asked Jeongyeon, furrowing her eyebrows.

“We haven’t. I was going to last night but she got all evasive and awkward and locked herself in the bathroom for half an hour…” Jeongyeon sighed and shook her head, as if she wanted to make all of her thoughts go away. Despite risking interrupting the love birds, she put her towel next to Tzuyu’s and sat down on it, looking at her phone.

“I’ll go talk to Jihyo; she can’t escape me in the water.” The princess said and threw her bag next to Jeongyeon, hurrying into the lake in her black one piece.

Dahyun shook her head, more in frustration and exasperation. She couldn’t understand why the girls couldn’t just talk it out, it probably had an easy solution. She sat on Jeongyeon’s towel, not even bothering to use her own.

“So, what’s up with you.” The princess asked Jihyo; the lake was not too deep so they could stand on their feet easily.

“Ugh, please don’t do this now, this is supposed to be a relaxing day…”

“Yeah, well, if you weren’t acting weird with ALL of us, I wouldn’t be here being all annoying. Jeong told me she tried talking to you last night.”

“Yeah, she did,” Her tone was a bit calmer now, she knew there was no point in trying to avoid the older. “I’m just not ready to talk… I still haven’t figure anything out…”

“You could start by saying that to her. It’s not even an answer or a solution but this silence treatment can’t affect the whole group…” Nayeon tried to tone it down too, at the end they were both her closest friends and she felt like she couldn’t keep taking sides. “Look, I love you like a sister. But you really need to fix whatever you have going on. With yourself individually but also with Jeong… you can’t have her waiting forever. Specially because you know she’d wait if you’d ask her to…” 

“I know… It’s just… Do you know she has her whole life planned? With back up plans and everything. She told me about it all one night. And it almost felt like she had included me in her life and… I didn’t hate it. That’s when I panicked. I don’t know, Nayeon, I’m not sure I’m ready for that kind of commitment and she’s too good to be wasting her time with me…” Jihyo sighed and held her breath before putting her head under water and screaming into it. When she came out, Nayeon hugged her tightly.

“I know you’re scared, and it’s okay. You can take you time, I don’t want you rushing into things but don’t ever dare saying that you’re not good enough for Jeongyeon, because if you’re not, no one is.” She moved away, just enough to look at Jihyo in the eye. “Just think if she is worth being a bit scared sometimes.” They both smiled and Jihyo mouthed an ‘I love you’ that made Nayeon splash her with water. 

“HOW DARE YOU DECLARE ME WAR LIKE THAT”

Suddenly the rest of the girls had joined and they were all splashing water at each other, ducking each other, finally the tense vibe disappeared and it felt like the old times when they were kids and there were no dramas of the heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hii, today's song is Take me Inside by Sampha!! I think it has very relaxing vibes and I wanted this chapter to be kinda chill. Next week we'll know more about Mina, Momo and Sana, I promise! thanks for reading xx


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